Ironing board



June 7, 1927,

| FAU'ST IRONING' BOARD Filed Matron 12. 1925 Patented June 7, 1927. v

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEVIN I'LUB'I, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR '10 ROCKFORD STEEL FURNITURE COIPANY, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS, CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

momma noann.

Application fled Kai-ch 12, 1925. Serial No. 14,854,

v This invention relates to ironing boards and more particularlv ironing boards of that ty e which are foldable' into and out of a ca inet mounted in or ona wall,.such as shown in my prior application Serial N 0. 750,763 filed November 19,1924.

It has been found in practice that boards of the above type when swung downwardly .into position for use, are not firmly supported to withstand the pressure imposed thereon when ironing or the strains incidental to the raising and lowering ofthe board. The present invention has for its object to overcome prior objections and improve the mounting and sup orting structure so that the board will be firmly supported to withstand the stresses of service while, also permitting the use of a board made of wood or metal.

Other objects of the invention are to provide an improved ironing board of the type referred to, wherein the inner end of the board shall be firmly and strongly supported in the cabinet through they medium of a vertically sliding support of novel construction engaged with ways in the cabinet and adapted to be raised and lowered as the board is folded outwardly and inwardly; to permit the board to be swung angularly in a horizontal plane when in lowered or working position and firmly held in. the desired angularly adjusted position; to provide a light, durable and strong construction of board and cabinet whereinall of the parts including the board itself are of metal, although the board .may beof wood; to provide a novel vertically sliding support for the inner end of the board in the cabinet and novel means for limiting the upward movement thereof upon the board being lowered to a horizontal plane for use and adapted to assist in withstanding the pressure and torsional or twisting strain exerted thereon and when the board is swung. to one side or the other; to provide animproved mounting for the board brace which will permit the board to be swung to either side in a horizontal plane a'ngularly from its normal position when swungstraight downwardly and to provide a novel supporting brace or strut coacting with the above-mentioned brace to give greater supporting strength to the board in use.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a construction of supporting and bracing means which .will generally facilitate manufacture and render production economical and expeditious.

Other objects andattendant advanta es will be appreciated b those' skilled in t is art as the invention. ecomes better understood by reference to the following-descri tion when consideredin connection with t e accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l, is a front elevationof the cabinet and board in folded position, omitting the door of the cabinet;

Fig. 2, is a longitudinal vertical section of Fig. 1, also showingoin dotted lines the lowoard taken on the planecred position of the of the section line 2-2 of'Fig. 1; I

Fig. 3, is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken horizontally on the plane of the section line 33 of F' 1;

- Fig. '4, is an enlarged fragmentary elevation taken on the lane of the section line 4- l of Fig. 1; and

Fig. '5, is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the plane of the section line 5-5 of Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawings in detail wherein I have illustrated an embodiment of the invention and in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout, 6 designates a rectan ular sheet metal cabinet of a size to house -t e ironing board and its supporting mechanism and preferably formed on its outer face with a marginal flange or molding 7, whereby the cabinet is adapted to be neatly fitted in a 'sutable wall opening. While the cabinet may be secured in this position, it is to be understood that the same may be mounted upon a wall in any suitable manner or upon any othersuitable upright support as it is thought will be obvious. 1

On the inner sides of the longitudinal side walls of the cabinet, near their lower ends, are mounted slideways 8 each conveniently formed of a single angle strip 9 with the inner web cut away intermediately of its ends as indicated at 10. The strip is also bent intermediately upon itself to provide a closed portion 11 forming a stop at the top of each slideway projecting above the flanges or Webs of the angle strips which are secured to the inner sides of the cabinet as indicated at 12. Slidably mounted in these slideways is a support or apron 13 in the form of a rectangular frame of round bar metal as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 of the'drawings. At the top of the frame 13, which is limited in its upward sliding movement by the stops 11 to prevent the inner or heel end of the ironing board from tipping upwardly under the pressure of the work thereon, a sheetmetal heel-plate 14 is flexibly secured as by hinging or .coiling the same about'the top of the frame forming the apron 13, as indicated at 15. This heel-plate is formed with a rounded substantially semi-circular upper edge, as shown. V

Pivoted to the under side of the heel-plate 14 by a vertical pivot bolt 16, is the inner or lower end of the ironing board 17. Hinged to the underside of the ironing board as by means of spaced pivot was 18 is a brace '19 consisting of a section of bar metal having a transverse top portion engaging the pivot ears 18 and downwardly convergent side portions 20 forming the brace rods proper and together forming a supporting strut for the board. The lower ends of the side portions 20 are supported on the bot-' tom wall of the cabinet to which they are hinged by directing the ends inwardly as indicated at 21 to form a horizontal pivot pin engaged with an -I-bolt or swivel 22 hea ed upon opposite sides of the bottom wall of the cabinet, which is apertured for this purpose. By this means, the braces are pivoted horizontally and adapted to turn on the vertical pivot or swivel formed by the pivot pin 22 so as to be.capable of turning in a horizontal plane together with the board mounted thereon.

In order to give additional strength for supporting the board as has been found necessary in use, a hollow sheet-metal brace 23 of channel or U-shaped cross-section is provided, the same having its lower end forked or bifurcated as. indicated at 24 and the furcations or side portions thus provided apertured to provide pivot ears into which the ends 21 of the resilient side portions 20 forming the pivot for the brace 19 are engaged so as to form a pivotal support to permit the braces 19 and 23 to both swing vertically. This construction permits the parts to be readily assembled or disassembled simply by spreading the sides 20 and permitting the ends 21 to snap into place or by displacing said ends outwardly against the resiliency of the metal bar comprising the brace 19. In this manner, the ends 21 serve the dual or double function of pivotally supporting both of the braces 19 and 23.

The upper or free end of the brace 23 is curved or bent at an obtuse angle as indicated art 25 and the extremity contracted and slotted as indicated at 26 for pivotal attachment to oppositely extending angle pieces 27 forming a slide piece for the brace and to which the brace is pivotally connected as indicated art-28 in the front thereof. These angle pieces or the slide piece formed thereby have their horizontal flanges slidable in a slideway 29 secured to the bottom of the board longitudinally thereof and approximately half-way between its ends as indicated at 30. Plates 31 are inserted in the ends of the slideway and secured by the bolts, rivets or screws 30, which plates form stops for the slide piece to limit the move ment thereof to the required extent in swing ing upwardly to a vertical position or downwardly to an inclined bracing position when the board is swung to a vertical position within the cabinet or to a horizontal position for use as clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings.

The ironing board 17 isadditionally attached to the heel-plate 14 by means of a clamp screw 32 in the ironing board extending upwardly through an arcuate slot 33 in the heel-plate 14 concentric to the pivot 13.

When the board is lowered to working posltion as shown in Fig. 2 by dotted lines, the bolt 32 and slot 33 permit the board 17 to be swung angularly in a horizontal plane to an extent limited by the slot and secured in any set position by tightening up the clamp screw or thumb nut thereof. The heel-plate may be provided on its upper surface with means for holding an iron when not in use as shown in my copending application above referred to, or to support an iron holder. It will also be noted that when the ironing board is swung down to a horizontal position for use, that the top of the frame comprising the apron 13 will be limited by the stops 11 so that the board may readily swing to operative position with its inner end limited and heldfrom upward movement.

The cabinet is designed to be equipped with the usual door (not shown) which may I be hinged at one side thereof in the usual or any preferred way. Figs. 1 and 2 show the board in idle position when in the cabinet and completely encased and concealed by the latter when the'door of the cabinet is closed. To bring the board into working position it is only necessary to open the door and draw the upper end of the board outwardly and downwardly. During this operation, the board swings outwardly on the upper ends of the braces 19 and 23 as a moving fulcrum. The lower end of the board at the same time moves upwardly, the sliding frame or apron 13 rising in the guides or uideways 8 until the upper end of the rame 13 strikes the stops 11 and is arrested- The heel-plate 14 rises withstand the necessary pressures incident to the use of the ironing board. As before stated,'the board may be of wood or flanged sheet-metal and the parts are therefore strong .and light in weight and the board will be firm 1y supported without the usual hinged leg on the under side of the free or outer end of the ironing board which tends to obstruct passage. When the board is to be replaced Within the cabinet, this is done by simply elevating and pushing inwardly on the outer end of the board, whereby the latter swings on the upper ends of the braces 19 and 23 and the latter at the same time swing inwardly with the board to the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2 wholly within the cabinet. At the same time the apron or frame 13 slides downwardly in contact with the bottom of the cabinet and the heel plate 14 is moved to a vertical position and follows the apron or frame 13 downwardly inthe guideways 8.

While I have described what I now consider to be the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the device is susceptible of wide changes and variations in the construction, arrangement and purposes of the parts as well as the materials used, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention-as will be hereinafter defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. In a foldableironing table of the type described, the combination with a cabinet; of slideways in said cabinet, a frame mounted in said slideways at its sides an ironing board flexibl connected to said frame, a brace pivote at its upper end to the underside of the ironing board and swiveled to the bottom of the cabinet, and

an additional brace slidably connected to the under side of the ironing board outwardly of the aforesaid brace and also swiveled to the bottom of the cabinet.

2. In a foldable ironing table of the type described, the combination with a cabinet; of slideways in saidcabinet, a frame mounted in said slideways at its sides, an ironing board flexibly connected to said frame, a brace pivoted at its upper end to the under side of the ironing board and having downwardly converging side portions with inwardlydirected ends, an eye swiveled in the bottom of the cabinet and receiving said inwardly directed ends to permit vertical pivoting of the brace with the board, another brace having spaced apertured portions pivoted to said inwardly directed portions on the swiveled eye-bolt and having its ways for vertical sliding movement, a heel-' plate hinged to the upper end of said apron, an ironing board pivoted to said heel plate upon a vertical axis, and a plurality of braces pivoted to the bottom of the ironing board and jointly mounted at their lower ends for vertical swinging and horizontal pivotal movement, said braces being connected to the board one outwardly of the other and the outer brace having limited movement at its connection with the board.

4. In a foldable ironing table of the type described, a cabinet having slideways on the inner side walls thereof, an ironing board arranged to fold up within said cabinet and to fold down to a horizontal operative position for use, said board having projections at opposite sides thereof within said cabinet, each arranged for reception in a slide channel provided by one of said slideways, each slideway being formed by a single strip of material of vangular cross-section providing one longitudinal flange for fastening the strip and another longitudinal flange to form the sides of the slide channel, said strip being bent approximately at its mid point into elongated U form so that the last mentioned flange forms the two sides of the slide channel ,with the portion at the bend providing a limiting stop for engagement by the projection on the ironing board arranged to operate in the slide channel, the other flange being rovided with means for fastening the strip within the cabinet, and means to support the outer end of the board.

5. In a foldable ironing table of the type described, a cabinet having slideways on the inner side walls thereof, and an ironing board arranged to fold up within said cabinet and to fold down to a horizontal operative position for use, said board having a heel plate fixed to said board and a rectangular slide frame connected with said heel plate and engaging at opposite sides in said slideways, said frame having a cross-piece at the upper end thereof and said heel plate being of sheetmetal and formed about said cross-piece to provide a pivotal bearing for hingedly connecting said board with said 

